Photo: The White House/YouTube
For the first time in history, the White House will include an American Sign Language interpreter at all of its briefings, Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday.
“As a part of this administration’s accessibility and inclusion efforts, starting today we will have an ASL, an American Sign Language interpreter, for our daily press briefings,” Psakisaid.
She continued: “The president is committed to building an America that is more inclusive, more just and more accessible for every American, including Americans with disabilities and their families.”
An ASL interpreter named Heather featured in Monday’s briefing, joining virtually.
The interpreters will be seen in-frame, as the briefings air on television and online, includingthe official White House websiteand social media accounts.
In a statement, the National Association for the Deaf said that a September 2020 court order had “set the stage” for the decision.
While the Trump administration began holding televisednovel coronavirusbriefings in March 2020, the White House did not comply with requests from lawmakers, a federal disability agency and the nation’s oldest civil rights organization asking that sign language interpreters be provided on screen.
The NADsued the Trump administrationover its refusal to provide ASL interpreters for any COVID-19-related press briefings, which would have allowed the nation’s approximately 11.5 million people with hearing disabilities to receive information about the pandemic via interpreters.
“The White House’s failure to provide ASL interpreters during Covid-19 related briefings, including press briefings, is against the law,“the lawsuit argued, according to CNN.
Marlee Matlin, an Academy Award-winning actress who is deaf and who appeared as a contestant on Trump’sTheCelebrity Apprenticein 2011, called his administration’s failure to include ASL interpreters “appalling.”
“This is not a trivial request,” Matlin, 54, said in a previous interview with PEOPLE. “It’s about the [Americans with Disabilities Act]. It’s about the pandemic. They know very well … They’re depriving us of the opportunity to participate. It’s unfathomable.”
A court eventually ordered the White House to provide ASL interpreters at all COVID-19 briefings.
“There is more work to be done, but this is a great day for inclusion and access for the deaf and hard of hearing community,” the groupsaid.
source: people.com
